Dr. Condoleezza Rice visited Augusta on Wednesday, March 29 to speak to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Augusta.
The, 66th United States Secretary of State, who is also the vice chair of the Board of Governors for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, came to expound on role Boys & Girls Clubs play in the community, particularly the importance of its recently-launched endowment fund to ensure long-term sustainability of its many youth programs.
In 2016, Rice was the guest of honor at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta’s first Great Futures Celebration, and in April of last year she spoke at the soft opening of its new headquarters, the HUB for Community Innovation on Chafee Avenue.
This endowment fund was established with several donations and gifts, including from its Board of Directors. Gifts to the fund are to be invested, with a portion of its earnings supporting the organization’s annual operating budget. The organization is seeking community help to raise $5 million within the year.
Before becoming the first Black woman to serve as the Secretary of State when she served under President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2009. Prior to that she served as National Security Advisor from 2001 to 2005.
Rice also served as President George W. Bush’s National Security Advisor from January 2001 to January 2005, the first woman to hold the position. From February 1989 through March 1991, Rice served on President George H. W. Bush’s National Security Council staff.
In 1991, Rice co-founded the Center for a New Generation (CNG), an after-school academic enrichment program for students in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park, Calif., which later merged with the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula.
In her presentation Wednesday, Rice championed the idea that American Dream should be accessible to every American child “regardless of their zip code.”
For more information on the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Augusta, visit www.bgcgreateraugusta.org.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
